


Do Not Go Softly

by Ijustneededanewname



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Aldecaldo Cyberpunk, Aldecaldo Gang, Aldecaldos Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk 2077 Spoilers, M/M, Night city, The Badlands Cyberpunk, The Star Ending (Cyberpunk 2077)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28803360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ijustneededanewname/pseuds/Ijustneededanewname
Summary: V dreams of a future in the dust of the desert. His family of Aldecaldo's support him like a living, breathing crutch. The chip in his head further effects his health and his mind, but to live the best he can until the end, that is all he may ask for. Night City has taken everything he was, has and ever will be. A name is left in place of a body, an apartment forgotten with messages warning him of his overdue payments. He takes his belongings and picks up strays before travelling into the desert.Before travelling to the beginning of the end of his life.
Relationships: V/Saul Bright
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Do Not Go Softly

**Author's Note:**

> As ambiguous of a Male V as I can possibly write. Insert your own into the cracks. Will soon be a work about V and Saul's growing relationship because I am a homosexual and I go awooga when I see Saul.

Arriving in Night City had been a wild ride from the start. 

Bribe money taken, but the meanings ignored. The border agent raising the alarm against V and Jackie, Jackie driving them into one of the many abandoned towns littering the Badlands. Checking the shipment they were smuggling. Forging a friendship. The fucking iguana crawling across V's arm. 

Then the next two years making a bare name for himself. Sleeping on the couch in Mama Welles' place, then couch hopping others. Sometimes taking payment in the form of food and water and extra clothes. Got his apartment, started decorating. Kept growing his name to the point that they were invited to _the_ Afterlife by Dexter DeShawn. 

All of the planning. All of the reconnaissance. Yet it still managed to fail. 

Saburo Arasaka was choked to death. Yorinobu blamed it on imaginary poison. That Arasaka bodyguard now became so small in the grand scheme of things, especially as he stood shamefully alongside Yorinobu and Adam Smasher. 

V and Jackie had run. Listened to T-Bug die. Jumped from the side of the building when the officers came. Jackie hurt himself in the landing through the glass, deposited the shard in his head when things got worse. They ran, and shot, snapped a few necks when they wanted to sneak. Managed to get into the Delamain cab and watched Adam Smasher land like an angel of brute death in front of them.

It seemed that death followed them to the motel. 

V spoke softly of Misty, and Mama Welles. About the brothers Jackie had grown up with. He had wiped some of the sweat from his friend's face and took the chip from him, then let go when his friend went limp. 

He sent the body to Viktor, stepped out into the cold wind of Night City and watched the red lights fade into the distance. Took those steps to Dex's apartment, got manhandled by the guard, washed the blood from his face, and took a bullet to the skull. Woke up with Johnny Silverhand's obnoxious ass bleeding into his psyche and Goro Takemura shooting Dex. Stabbed adrenaline into his heart and shot at the assassins, called Delamain to collect he and Takemura. 

After Viktor's clinic, most of everything was a blur. Johnny was just another ghost following him, and the promises of getting the chip removed were nothing but that; promises. Empty words with hardly any fire behind them. Johnny said that the moment V saved Evelyn, he gave her a choice. Her choice of death would be by her own hand, not suffering in a Scav den. One of the few memories that remained strong in his head was killing the bastard that took advantage of Evelyn. Consoling Judy, Mama Welles, studying the portrait of Jackie with the candle flickering beneath it. 

It wasn't until he met Panam did he start to get grounded in reality. They were both hard-asses, similar amount of stress on their shoulders. V wanted the promise of trust between them to be good so he followed along with her plans in the desert and damn, if he didn't feel alive. The years away from the Badlands seemed to drain him of all that had made him a Bakker. But sneaking around town in search of Panam's keys, killing Wraith's and driving fast through the bumpy and ugly desert-

V felt alive again. 

Saving Saul was difficult, but put the fire back in V's blood. The race for Claire in the desert, the sand on his face and sun beating down on him; it felt good. He started to frequent the Badlands more, had a place alongside Panam and when the two of them saved the Aldecaldos in the Basilisk, Saul saw something more than a gonk in both of them. Fighters. Heroes. Legends. 

V had a place in a family once more, and he swore to take them up on that offer if he was to survive the chip in his head. He passed out when he was at their camp, suffered major blood loss through his nose for a few days. Headaches came and went, and he seized once or twice. There was no way for him to get around explaining it to Panam. 

Word spread to Saul, and more promises came. 

V went back to Night City. 

Tightened the vest secured to his body and loaded it with gun magazines. Wore a belt of bullets and slid Widow Maker against his back. Fought his way through cyberpsychos, saved people Regina, Wakako, Dakota, and Padre sent him for. Killed those who had hits on them, stole cars, cleared entire dens of different bastards. 

All of it culminated in a heap of money. 

Then everything culminated into his final fight against the city. Every moment he spent with others; the Peralez couple, the detective, Ozob, Kerry fucking Eurodyne, Rogue, the Voodoo Boys and Brigitte, Judy, Takemura, Viktor, Misty...

Saul suffered major injuries. Lost both of his legs, but managed to hold on to life. 

V went with the Aldecaldos for a future, no matter how short it might be. 

That's why he's back in Night City, riding the elevator up to his floor where his one and only apartment sat. Listening to the drone of the televisions and N54, back pressed against the corner wall as it rumbles to a stop in front of 2nd Amendment. V can see Wilson through the grate of his wall and the merc stops in with a gift. A gun he hasn't used for months, something he tells Wilson never to sell. The shop owner thanks V breathlessly as the merc makes his way to Fred, talks with the older man, says his goodbyes in the form of their small talk.

Then he finds himself at the base of the stairs before his apartment level. He thinks of Barry, the brief moments he had with the man. Climbs higher, turns the corner, and finds Sandayu Oda crouched beside his door. V stops in his tracks and readies himself to grab his gun but he pauses. 

Sandayu wears old clothes and as his optics raise to V, the merc notices the lack of cyberware on the other's throat. It looks painful, as if it had been ripped from his skin. There is deep red marks of vulnerable flesh coming up the shaft of his throat and stopping below his jaw. Even the gray of the other's false eyes seem to be lacking; one fizzles out as the thought comes to V's mind. Oda blinks and stands to his full height, arms that V had once believed to be tucked behind the other actually missing completely. In place, there are fleshy stubs with ports for cybernetic arms to be connected. 

"V..." the other murmurs. 

The merc blinks in surprise moments before collecting himself. He slides his hand to his belt and rests his thumb in the loop on his pants as Sandayu lowers his gaze to the ground. No-one in the apartment block pays them mind as they pass; they are merely two of Night City's forgotten phantom's. 

"Sandayu Oda." V responds. 

The gentlest of smiles spreads on the other man's face. "Your pronunciation has improved."

"I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Hanako?"

"It is a complicated story. But the loss of Takemura-san has caused this." his lips curl with discomfort and V strolls to his door, puts in the code, and gestures for the other man to enter once the door has slid open. 

Sandayu bows his head partially and strolls within the apartment. He wears the same combat boots and pants from his fight with V, but only a plain grey t-shirt covers his chest. V can see some of the tattoos on the other man's shoulders as Oda stands uncomfortably in the apartment. The merc locks it and crosses the floor to open the window. 

In the natural light, V recognizes the bruising on the other's exposed skin. Old cuts and scars alongside them, not to mention how much more raw the wounds on the other man's throat now look. Smudging all of that is the natural dirt from lack of bathing. Smears of mud, oil, old blood, unknown substances congregate into a large threat of infection. The usually soft and gleaming hair of Sandayu's is greasy and seemingly only pushed away from his face by throwing his head back. 

"Better privacy in here." V tells him as he moves to the door of his stash, then pauses and turns back around. "My optics translate in real time. You don't have to force yourself to speak English, I understand it can be a hard language to master. 'specially since Japanese is so much different."

Oda remains standing uncomfortably in the center of the floor, but some tension eases from his shoulders. He begins to speak, Japanese translating easily into English. "I left Arasaka because I failed my job, just as Takemura-san had. But it was neither of our faults; I no longer had a place there. I removed everything that connected me to them, that is why I am here."

"You're down bad, huh?" V clears his throat and reaches for his right arm, then disconnects it and draws close to Sandayu. He pushes it into the other man's socket and sees the working eye brighten to configure, fingers then curling into a fist when the connection has been made. V steps back. "Shower is just over there, and I still got some food 'round here somewhere. After, I'll take you to a doc I know and trust. We'll get you your own limbs. Just- don't use the weapons I got configured in that arm. Might blow a gasket of yours or something."

The other man turns the strange palm towards himself and then reaches for his nose, scratching the bridge and sighing in relief. V opens the door to his stash as he hears Oda entering the bathroom, then later hears the water turning on and the familiar sound of clothes falling to the floor. He uses his final hand to organize his things into bags. Weapons the Aldecaldos could use, clothing that the ever-growing kids would soon fit. He sets aside some things he believes Oda would either find comfortable, or would suitably cover the other man's body. Mostly blacks and whites, but a good pair of armored combat boots seemed up Sandayu's alley. 

V carries everything out in parts, then opens his refrigerator and finds only out-of-date leftovers in the back. The only thing good was the old jar of sparkling water he still had since he refused to drink the stuff unless he was desperate.

Oda was desperate. 

He leaves both the water and the set of clothing on the floor beside the shower. He remembers that there were no towels so he opens the door and tosses it in, hears his toothpaste collapsing to the ground when he does it and explains everything to Sandayu. 

Panam's contact photo pops up in the corner of his vision while he's stacking the bags beside the door and V picks up. Directs her on where to go from the ground floor, then hears a loud knock on his door. The merc pulls it open and sees her eyes go straight for the space his arm should be, then raises as Sandayu leaves the bathroom. Oda has pulled on the shirt and pants, towel draped over his head. The dirt has been cleaned from his skin and he looks better, but the raw skin of his missing cyberware along his throat still worries V. 

The queen of the highway looks at V in question as the merc turns away, then holds out his hand to Sandayu. 

"Can I have my arm back? I need to drive us to Viktor's clinic."

Once his arm is configured with the rest of his body, V helps Sandayu with his boots and straps a backpack to the other man's body. Then he pulls a cap over the other's head to his identity, some red and blue trucker cap Oda continues eyeing when he isn't glancing to Panam in suspicion. Palmer gathers what bags she can carry and V scoops up the rest, then gestures for Oda to leave and locks the apartment behind himself. 

Mitch arrives to help with some of the baggage, late thanks to NCPD convoys on the roads. He's taken the most inconspicuous vehicle he can; V's old beater that the merc had started his life in the city with. V finds Panam has parked alongside his green Thorton at the base of the building, Mitch behind her. Each of them stash the bags in the back of their vehicles before agreeing to meet at camp. 

V closes the passenger side door behind Oda as Panam calls him over. 

Anderson and Palmer stand with their arms over their chests, both facing away from Sandayu's gaze. 

"Didn't you fight him?" Panam asks. 

V nods, feels the aches from healing cuts of Oda's blades still on his stomach. "You see the state of him... Man is desperate. I was just gonna get him some arms then send him on his way-"

"That'd be unfair." Mitch answers, continuing as the other two glance at the veteran. "He came to you because he trusts you. No ex-Arasaka survive in this city, especially not as high ranking as he is."

"You want us to take him with us?" Panam asks. 

Mitch leans against the hood of the black beater. "You're the queen. You decide who comes and goes."

"What do you say, V?"

He sniffs. "I'll mention it to him. But I won't take him anywhere near the camp if you don't trust him."

"It's not about if I trust him. It's about if you think it's safe enough to bring an Arasaka agent into our family. He'll have a tent and food, but he'll have to earn his place with us. And he'll have to fight harder- he's corpo, and more than that, an Arasaka corpo."

V nods, not mentioning Oda's relation to Hanako Arasaka, princess of the empire. 

Mitch follows Panam away from the apartment block, both of them waving at V as they pass. He climbs into the driver's seat of his Thorton and starts the engine, letting it warm up as he buckles Oda in and secures himself. He follows the short distance to Viktor's clinic, parks on the sidewalk as he usually does, and helps Oda back out. He takes the short staircase at the side of the buildings and pops his head in to see Misty. She follows him to the ripperdoc with wandering eyes studying Oda's lithe and threatening form. 

Even without his mantis blades, he was still not a man to be trifled with. 

V pulls the grates apart Oda waits for Misty to enter before following her. She drags herself to sit on Viktor's table while the older man leans back in his seat to study the newcomer. He must recognize Sandayu from somewhere; perhaps one of the guards who took Jackie's body, but says nothing. He greets V in a melancholy tone because he knows this will be one of the last times they see each other. 

The merc introduces Oda to both of them, sure to mention Goro in the process. Viktor is still not completely trustworthy but he relaxes at the sound of the late Takemura's name. Oda sits in the medical chair when directed, working eye absorbing everything he can as V explains the situation. The merc pays up front, then checks up on the implants he has brought to the doc over their time together. 

Mostly stolen parts, but a lot of it is first-hand, high-end cybernetics. V sets aside any implants he had collected from Maelstrom, Animals, or Scavs, and goes for the Tyger Claws collection instead. They had a lot of good tech that had never been used lying around in their dens. So V taps a certain trustworthy container he confided in Viktor to keep and the doctor agrees to implant it on Oda with consent from his patient. 

Sandayu nods in agreement, sitting up to allow his hat and shirt to be removed. Damage to his body is worse than V had previously believed; old bullet wounds long healed, marks from blades and burns, some whip marks. All of it gnarls the old tattoos inked into his skin. Depictions of dragons, koi, and snakes alongside blossoms. Reminiscent of the traditional Japanese tattoos V had seen throughout his time working for Wakako. They end where his arms have been detached, Viktor turning to Misty and requesting she run to Japantown on a job for him. 

He promises her a new tattoo if she does it for him. 

V reads one of Viktor's books as Sandayu receives his new implants. Damage done to his optics was irreversible, so the doctor made sure to give him new ones. Oda settled on a new color and pair, the same build as V's but with less modifications. Misty arrives with what Viktor ordered an hour into Sandayu's procedure, tosses V some of the takeout she bought on the way and passes an enclosed shard to Viktor. 

The doctor continues until dusk, then calls on Misty and V to check on Oda. 

Sandayu is a new man. A pair of brown eyes, new arms decorated with similar tattoos as that of what had once been. He clenches his fists and activates his mantis blades, the thermal pair V had chosen for him. V activates his own electrical pair and the two hold each other's gaze, Oda grinning softly as the blades retract into his arms. The damaged skin on his throat has been grafted over by what tech Viktor had on hand. There are sutures lining where the mess had sat but over time the flesh would settle and it would merely be a lining of cybernetics on his throat similar to that of V's. 

"There's food in Misty's shop and water." V tells him as Oda pulls his shirt over his head. "Down the street is the bus station which'll take you to a transportation depot near the border. It can take you as far north as Oregon, or as far east as Arizona if you decide on that."

Sandayu nods and excuses himself from the doctor's clinic with graciousness and thanks. 

Conversation between the trio is bittersweet. V has chosen life away from them, but the fact he has chosen life at all brings the two of them comfort. They will have each other once the merc leaves the city, and though he will miss them, he will never forget them. Even if Johnny absorbs the entirety of his psyche. 

Viktor holds him tightly when they hug. V pulls away with stinging eyes and a sore throat, tells the doctor to keep up the good work, then follows Misty out of the clinic. They stop before the backdoor to her shop and hug. She pecks his cheek and runs her thumb across his cheekbone. To try and cease the tears, V holds up a shining key. 

ARCH is written on the metal. 

"I won't have any use for the bike in the badlands." he informs her. "And it's about time you stopped walking everywhere."

Misty takes the key softly from his grasp and touches it like it was the last piece of Jackie she had. 

He cups the back of her head and presses a chaste kiss to her hair before slipping through her door, barely glancing at Oda when he realizes the other man has stayed. Sandayu pulls the hat back on to his head and follows V down the loud street back to the green Thorton. The merc stops at the hood of the car and lets out a shaky breath, heart too hurt to continue for the time being. Oda remains quiet while the merc seats himself on the hood and rubs his eyes with his palms. 

"Why didn't you go to the bus station?" V grumbles. 

Sandayu raises his hands. "I must repay you for this."

"It was free shit. It'd be a waste of your time."

"Takemura-san was never free." V raises his head and blinks away the tears. Oda lowers his new arms. "I know you attempted to save him. It does not matter if it was repaying a debt, or out of the goodness of your heart. You did what you could for him and if that was not enough, you listened to him when he asked that you spare me. I did not deserve that gentleness. I do not feel as though I deserve a chance at life again. 

I had come to you thinking you would kill me, and had accepted that. Allowing me to live at all was more than I expected. Takemura-san has died, and with it, our leashes to Arasaka have burned. Hanako has no use for a bodyguard who does not work, Yorinobu suffers without Adam Smasher, and Takemura-san died trying to bring justice to Arasaka Saburo's name."

V exhales as he presses his palms against the hood of the car. "Do you want to live?"

Sandayu is quiet for a few moments. 

"Did you?"

The merc studies the other and chuckles breathlessly before standing. He rolls his neck and cracks his joints, hands coming to rest on his hips. 

"It's gonna take a long while for the Aldecaldo's to trust you. There's a big chance they're gonna make you sleep on the outskirts of camp with your own fire and tent to keep you company. Might be years before they even think of taking you on jobs, or letting you out of my sight. And Saul- Saul got badly injured by Adam Smasher so to add onto all of what Arasaka has done to them, another one of their guards coming into camp isn't gonna do much for you. They're gonna have bad blood with you."

"Then I will I have to build myself from the ground up." Sandayu responds. "If you would continue to trust me as you have done."

Was it trust? Or pity towards the vulnerability of a once strong man?

V sniffs, scratches his jaw, then points a thumb at the car. 

"Get in. Panam and Mitch will be waitin' for us."


End file.
